Folding partition



1933 H. D. OBERDORFER ET AL 1,893,147

FOLDING PARTITION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1929 Jam. 3, 1933. rH. D. OBERDORFER ET AL 1,893,147

FOLDING PARTITION Filed Feb. 25, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 46 J5 ii H II[We/2&5; 1O. W M TM 1933- H. D. OBERDORFER ET AL 1,393,147

FOLDING PARTITION Filed Feb. 25, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 W na Patentedfan. 3, 1933 stares HENRY D. OBERDORFER AND ROEIALD TRUE, OF NEJVOASTLE,IND

CIRCLE A FBOD'UCTS OF ILLINOIS HA, ASSIGNORS T CSIZPGEPJATZZOTI, 3F NECASTLE, INDIANA, A. CORPORATION FOLDLTG PARTITION Application filedFebruar 25, 192

This invention relates in general to av folding partition and has moreparticular reference to a mechanically operated sound insulatedstructure with a bottom seal and requiring no lower track.

One of the principal objects of the invention is in the provision of amechanically operated folding partition in which the doors are locked inopen and closed position and are positively extended and folded by theoperating mechanism.

Other and further objects of the invention are in the provision of abottom seal for each door section separately operable to engage thefloor and close the space between the bottom of the door and the floorasound insulated and fireproofed door having air spaces or spaces filledwith sound-deadening material; aspring jamb to take up expans on orcontraction at the end of the partitn; an overhead guideway with nobottom guide rail; and any other novel features of construction hereinshown and described.

()the folding partitions are objectionable because they tend to bindwhen the sections are folded or unfolded or fail to operate properlywith a floor track which has vertical irregularities. Floor tracks areobjectionable because they provide an obstruction which becomes cloggedwith dirt and mars the appearance of the floor. If a floor is slightlyuneven, it is practically impossible to make a tight fit between thetrack and partition sections with the result that no matter howsound-proof the body of the door may be, sound will pass to some extentthrough the space at the bottom of the door.

The present invention overcomes these objections and makes a partitionwhich 1s easy to move from open to closed position by providing amechanism which positively engages the leading section, extending andfolding the sections and preventing their movement except by the properoperation of the mechanism. An individual bottom seal is provided foreach section which is operated resiliently to close the space betweenthe floor and the section, holding the partition in place and formingpractically a solid wall.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a Serial H0. 342,484.

side elevation of a folding partition constructed in accordance with theprinciples of this invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of thepartition; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the partition partially folded;Fig. at is a sectional view of a partition in its folded position; Fig.5 is a sectional elevation of a partition with parts broken awayillustrating the operating mechanism; Fig. 6 is a cross sect-ional viewillustrating the operating mechanism; Fig. 7 is a sectional View showinga modification of the bottom seal; and Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectionalview showing a spring jamb and the insulating structure of the sectionsand that of a door.

Folding partitions having hinged fan or siig-zag folding doors have beenused with upper and lower supporting structures, usually in connectionwith a lower track or guideway and usually locked in place at the topand bottom. In the present invention an operating mechanism is providedat one end of the partition which has a sprocket and chain connectionsecured to one of the parti tion supports and the chain guided in othersupports for positively extending and folding the partition sections andlocking them in adjusted position by removing an operating crank.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a preferred form of thefolding partition of this invention is shown applied to a framed openingdesignated generally with the reference numeral 10. The partitioncomprises a number of door sections 11, 12, and 13 connected by hinges1a to fold oppositely in fan-like or zig-Zag formation, as indicated in3, and one of the end door sections 13 is hinged to the side of theframed openings.

The door sections are supported at the tops only by hangers 1.5., andthe hangers are located upon each full door section or upon various oralternate sections. The hangers 15 are placed at the center of the doorsections and to support the hangers, each one has opposite rollers 16 toengage in depending tracks 17 of a supporting channel rail 18 attachedto a header 19 positioned in the frame opening 10, by means ofsupporting brackets 20 and fastening bolts 21 engaging the brackets andextending into the header.

At each end of the track 18 is a sprocket 22 mounted on hangers 23 and24 secured to the header 19 and to the end of the opening frame 10,respectively, and extending around the opposite sprockets is a chain 25with its ends secured to the opposite sides of the door hangor. Atightening link may be interposed between one end of the chain and thehanger for varying the length of the chain. The lower run of the chainextends loosely through an opening 27 in a projection 28 at the sides ofall of the hangers except the one to which the ends of the chain areattached so that it moves without undue sagging and without engaging anyof the door sections to obstruct their movement.

One of the sprockets 22 is mounted upon a shaft 29 which extends fromthe side of the partition and is connected shaft 30 by means of gearing(not shown) in a gear housing 31. At the lower end of the shaft 30 is agear box 32 having an operating stud engageable by a removablecrankhandle 34 so that the operation of the sprockets and chain is effectedby rotation of the handle 84, and the partition remains in any positionto which it is moved by the handle.

To make a close lit with the side wall, a wall jamb 35 is yieldingly'secured to a wall plate 36 by means of bolts 87 movable loosely in aslot 38 in the jamb and having a spring 39 interposed between the jamband the plate tending to press the jamb outwardly. Side boards 40 andmolding trim 41 cover and partially enclose the wallplate and door jamb35 and make a neat connection for the end of the partition. i p

t the bottom of each door section is a slide 42 having a felt strip 43secured thereto by pasting or other means and removable with the slidefor renewing it Without dismantling the door. Eachslide is mountedcentrally in its door section and extends the full width thereof. At theupper end of each slide is a supporting bar 44 with a centrally disposedupwardly extending yoke 45. A pressure plate 46 is disposed within theyoke and held in place at the sides by the structure of the 8 door inwhich are secured a number of bolts or screws 47 which extend throughholes in the bar 44 and may be depressed into open-v ings 48 in theslide 42 against the pressure of springs 49 which surround the screws 47and are interposed between the top bar 44 and the pressure plate 46. Toapply yielding pressure to the bottom slide, an eccentric 50 is mountedin each door and has studs or sockets 51 projecting to the oppositeouter faces of the door and accessible from either side thereof.Preferably the socket or stud is the same size as that engaged by the,crank handle 34 in operating the partition so that the slides can beoperated at will with the same with a vertical handle. If therotation ofthe eccentric causes the felt strip 43 to engage the floor before theeccentric is turned to its maximum pressure applying position, thepressure plate 46 nay be depressed, thrusting the screws 47 into theopenings 48 against the pressure of the springs 49.

To make the slide easily removable, an angle bracket 52 is secured ateach end of the bar 44, overlapping the end of the slide42 and insertedthrough the brackets into the ends of the slide are removable fasteningscrews 53. Thin strips of felt or other suitable material 54 are appliedover the ends of the slide and the brackets 52.

The fastening screws 53 at the ends of the slide are accessible when thepartition is partially folded, as shown for example by Figure 3, and byremovingthe slide a new felt is easily applied at the bottom. 7

By making the slides 42 separately operable, this partition will take upirregularities in the floor, the partition will be held tightly butyioldingly in place, and any opening below the doors is effectivelyclosed to prevent transference of sound and heat through the partition.I

1 modified form of bottom slide is shown in Figure 7 in which a slidemember 56 is mounted in te center of a door 57 and is movable downwardlyagainst the tension of a spring 58. At the bottom it carries a removablefoot piece 59 and a felt strip 60 for engaging the floor. The slide ispressed downwardly by means of a bar 61 secured thereto and having aprojecting end 62 for engagement manually or by the foot of an operator.This bar has teeth 63 engaged by a pawl 64 pivoted on the door 57, thepawl having a projecting part for engagement manually or by the foot ofan operator to release the toothed bar 61, allowing the slide 56 to beraised by the spring 58.

The door sections may be of uniform width, or one of the sections, as13, may be narrow to fit tightly in any opening, and one or more of thesections may be provided with a shuttle 65. he shuttle door ispreferably dis posed above the slide lowering mechanism, as clearlyshown in Figure 1; and if it eX- tcnds to the bottom of'the section, theslide may be located in the shuttle door. To make the shuttle door fitclosely, its side and end frames 66 (see Figure 8) are bevelled and thedoor section 12 in which it is mounted has a marginal molding 67 offibrous or sound insulating material for engaging the shuttle door andholding it tightly in its closed position.

In the door edges and in the jambs are cooperating recesses 7 O andprojections 71 with a flat space between for seating a thin 7 2 of feltor other insulating material. These recesses and projections cooperateto make a more nearly tight 3' oint between the door sections andbetween the partition and the yielding end jambs.

At the top of the partition is an enclosure for the supporting rail andthe operating mechanism comprising side plates 73 secured to the sidesof the header l9 and extending below the rail 18 with a molding 74- atthe top against the ceiling. Bottom plates are secured to the loweredges of the side plates 73 and extend above or adjacent to the upperends of the door sections. A fabric strip 76 is secured to the inneredge of each bottom plate 7 and overlaps the sides of the upper ends ofthe sections, making a tight joint. If desired, the inner surface of thehousing thus produced may be provided with a lining '77 of felt or otherinsulating material.

All of the door so tions are preferably of fire-proof sound insulatingconstruction. The doors are built in layers with strengthening ribs 80and interior spaces filled with deadening or sound-absorbing materialwhich i slow burning. The outer layers 82 may be of laminated panellingor fibrous insulating material with an outer exposed coa ing 83 ofdecorators, cloth or asbestos cloth which fire proofed. Even the thinrails on the on side edges of the doors may be made of i proof wood.Thus, the entire door struci'u is as nearly fire-proof and sound-deadenor absorbing as it is possible to make T' exterior layer depends uponthe type of the door which is used. By having the air spa ces filledwith sound-deadening material, the doors are made light and they do nottransmit sound.

ll hen this partition is installed, it is a simple matter to open andclose it by operating the handle 3t; the partition is locked in anyposition a ninst unauthorised movement or ,Ljustment by simply removingthe handle; and any expansion or contraction of the partition is takenup by the yielding jambs at the ends thereof. The positive movement ofone of the han ers leads and guides all the other ones in folding andunfolding the partition, and after the partition is extended thebottomslides are operated by means of the handle 3% to fill the spacebetween the bottoms of th door sections to make the partition morerigid, and to hold it in place against the floor without the necessityof having a bottom guide track.

We claim:

1. A folding partition having a plurality of hinged sections connectedtogether for approximately closing and opening, a flexible packing atthe top of the sections, extensible means at the bottom of the sertionfor engaging the floor and completing a sound-proof partition betweenthe fioor and housing and operating means in each door above the bottomfor separately and positively actuating said extensible means.

2. A folding partition for an established opening, comprising aplurality of sections hinged together for approximately fitting theopening, means forming a flexible closure between the top of thesections and the opening, yielding rall plates for engaging the ends ofthe partition in the opening when the partition is closed, extensibleslides in the bottom of the sections to fill up the spaces between thelower edges of the door sections and the floor supporting the sectionsand holding them firmly in place, and means in each section above thebottom for raising and lowering the slides.

3. A folding partition comprising sections hinged together forapproximately fitting an opening, packing means between the opening andthe upper portions of the sections when they are extended, means forminga sound-proof packing between the hinged edges of the sections, andslides at the bottoms of the sections separately movable for engagementwith the floor to take up any inerualities in the floor and to make atight.

connection between the bottoms of the sec tion and the floor.

In a folding partition of the class described, a plurality of sectionshinged together, and a bottom slide for each section,

comprising a removable slide member, means for resiliently aressing itdownward from the bottom of the section, and cam operated means in eachdoor for moving the slide upwardly and downwardly.

5. In a folding partition, a door section movable to partially fill adoor opening, a slide carried by the door at the bottom, and separateeccentric operated means in each door above the bottom thereof forpressing the slide from the bottom of the door into engagement with thefloor, the slide being removable without aifecting the mounting of thedoor.

6. In a folding partition, a door mounted for movement to par ially fillan opening, a slidable section at the bottom, and means including anindependently operated eccentrio in each door for pressing the slideresiliently against the floor.

7. A bottom slide for a door comprising a slide member having asupporting yoke, and means including an eccentric manually operated camin each door for engaging the yoke to raise and lower the slide.

8. A bottom closure for a door comprising a slide mounted in the doorfor vertical movement, a yoke attached to the top of the slide, aneccentric manually operated cam in each door for positively engaging inthe yoke and having studs extending to opposite sides of the door forpositively moving the cam, and resilient means also engaging the camwithin the yoke for pressing the slide resiliently downward when theyoke is not in engagement with the cam.

j .9. A removable bottom slide for doors,

comprising a slide membe rextending the full widthof the door andcentrally located therein, a supporting bar for the member having anupwardly extending yoke and end brackets, eccentric means in each doorfor actuating the bar, and fastening means extending through the endbrackets into the ends of the slide member and removable from the edgesof the door to release the member for renewal and repair.

10. A door and a bottom closure therefor comprising a slide extendingthe full width of the door and centrally mounted to slide vertically atthe bottom thereof, means including a bar with an upwardly extendingyoke for supporting the rod, an eccentric cam engaging the yoke andhaving portions extending to opposite sides of the door for manually andpositively moving the'cam, and resilient means disposed within the yokehearing against the cam and projecting within the slide for applyingpressure to the slide when the cam is turned.

11. A removable pressure bottom closing slide for doors comprising aslide member adapted to extend the full width of a door and havingrenewable insulation along its bottom and ends, a supporting bar for thetop of the member having an upwardly extending yoke and end extensionsto which the ends of theineinber are removably secured, an operating camto engage the yoke having portions to extend at opposite sides of a doorfor separate manual engagement therewith,

and a pressure plate disposed within the yoke and engaged by the camhaving guiding pins extending therefrom through the supporting barandinto openings provided at the top of the member with coil springssurrounding the guide members between the bars for applying the pressureof the cam to the slide.

HENRY D. OBERDORFER. RONALD TRUE.

